My nephew visited me this summer during a family vacation. He will soon be starting grade 11 (junior) ​year. He is a hard working student and would like to study mathematics in university. He understands that this is the year when he needs to start thinking about university and scholarship applications. We started chatting about his post-secondary plans one evening and he asked me two questions. The first question was, "What can I do to make sure I have competitive university and scholarship applications?" The second question was, "What sorts of careers are possible with a mathematics degree?" Here is the advice that I offered him.

Break Out from the Pack

As a high school teacher, I have written a lot of reference letters. The hardest reference letters to write are for talented students who come to class every day and work hard but have nothing to set them apart from the other 30 or so students in class. Ask yourself, "What sets me apart or makes me different and special?" Here are some things I suggested to my nephew:

The first piece of advice is simple but needs to be said... go to class every day. If you are not going to be in class, let your teacher know in advance. Similarly, pass in every assignment/project on time. If something is going to be late, let your teacher know in advance. This is what being mature and responsible looks like in high school.

Spend some time this summer doing the Brilliant.org 100 Day Summer Challenge. If you haven't been doing these problems, get started now before the summer is over. Brilliant.org posts an interesting math problem each day. Take a few minutes each morning to try the day's problem and then read through the discussion of solutions afterwards. Make note of your favourite problems and share a few of them with your teacher. One of my favourites so far was day 68, The Desert Trek.

Let your teacher know that you'd like to participate in upcoming mathematics contests and competitions. For my nephew this would be the AMC 12 math contest in February. He might also consider taking Art of Problem Solving's AMC 12 Preparation course. It meets online in the evening once a week for 12 weeks. A course like this can introduce you to interesting problem solving techniques that you might not have seen before.

These are the sorts of things that will let your teacher know that you are really interested in mathematics and points that can be included in a reference letter. Plus, if you like math, you will really enjoy the challenge.

Careers for Mathematians

There are some great careers for mathematicians that don't get a lot of press. Here are some careers that I find really interesting:

Data Scientist - Data science is all about extracting knowledge and gaining insights from data. Hal Varian, Google's Chief Economist, once said, "The ability to take data – to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades." He went on to say that there are enormous quantities of free data but limited capabilities and resources to understand that data and extract value from it.

Forensic Accountant - This career is not nearly as dangerous as the 2016 movie The Accountant starring Ben Affleck might lead you to believe. Forensic accountants investigate fraud or embezzlement and analyze financial information for use in legal proceedings.

Actuarial Scientist - Actuaries manage risk. They use analytical and statistical skills to help organizations plan for the future and protect themselves from loss. This career is often listed as one of the top-ranked jobs based on a variety of factors including salary and career outlook. Check out this Taking Maths Further podcast which includes an interview with Simon Perera from Lane, Clark & Peacock about his work as an actuary, what an actuary is and how it involves predicting the growth of investments.

So what advice would you give to a grade 11 student who is interested in a career in mathematics? I'd love to know what you think.